The digital marketing glossary, in plain English

A

A/B test

Showing two versions of a page or an ad to visitors picked at random, then keeping the one that gets the most inquiries. You change only one thing at a time, so you know what made the difference.

Ad budget

The money that pays for the clicks on your ads, not to be confused with the price of managing the campaigns. With us, you pay it directly to Google, with no commission. Work out your Google Ads budget

Admin area (back end)

The behind-the-scenes part of your website or online store, which your visitors never see. It’s where you change some text, add a product or keep track of orders.

AEO

Short for “answer engine optimization”: optimizing for the engines that answer questions. It’s the work that gets ChatGPT, Gemini or Google’s AI answers to cite your business when someone asks them a question. For a small business, it’s the same work as GEO. SEO, GEO or AEO: the differences

AI agent

A program that handles several tasks in a row on its own, connected to your tools. For example, it can read a request, look up the answer in your documents, suggest an appointment and create the customer’s record. It acts within the limits you set. What an AI agent costs

AI assistant

A tool like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot that you ask questions in everyday language. More and more people also use one to find a tradesperson, a practice or a shop. Show up in AI assistants

AI Overviews and AI Mode

The answers written by Google’s AI, either above the links (AI Overviews) or in a conversation (AI Mode). They cite only a few sources: being one of them counts, on top of your place in the links. SEO, GEO or AEO

AI visibility

How present your business is in AI assistants’ answers: is it cited, and is what they say accurate? It’s measured on questions tracked every month, not with a single score. What AI visibility costs

Alt text

A short description hidden behind each image. Screen readers read it aloud to visually impaired people, and Google uses it to understand what the photo shows.

API

The door through which two pieces of software exchange data, without anyone retyping anything. It’s what lets your form send a request straight into your CRM or your accounting software.

Audit

A review of where you stand online: your website, your place on Google and in AI assistants’ answers, your ads. A good audit ends with a written plan that says what to do first. What an audit costs

Automation

Handing software a task that keeps coming back: copying data, sending a confirmation, following up on a quote. The work gets done on its own, nothing gets forgotten, and your team keeps its time for customers. Automate your tasks

B

Backlink (inbound link)

A link on another website that leads to yours. To Google, it’s a bit like a recommendation: a link from a reputable site in your region or your field is worth more than a crowd of unrelated links. Bought links go against Google’s rules. What SEO costs

Bidding

Every time someone searches, Google holds an auction among the advertisers interested in that search. Your ad’s position depends on what you’re willing to pay and on the ad’s quality. With automated bidding, Google adjusts your bids itself to reach the goal you set, such as inquiries. How the price of a click is set

Bounce rate

The share of visits that leave quickly, without doing anything else. In Google Analytics 4, it’s the opposite of the engagement rate. A high rate isn’t always bad: someone who finds your address right away may leave at once, satisfied.

Brand

What people think and say about your business, well beyond the logo: your name, your promise, the way you talk and the way you serve. A clear brand is easy to recognize, and easy to recommend.

Brand voice

The way you talk, everywhere: warm or understated, formal or casual, technical or simple. A consistent voice makes a business easier to recognize, and easier to believe.

Brochure website

A website that presents your business, your services and how to reach you, with no online sales. Its goal: getting the right customer to call or write to you. What a brochure website costs

C

Call to action (CTA)

The button or sentence that tells visitors what to do next: “Call,” “Request a quote,” “Book.” One clear, visible call to action beats five buttons competing for attention.

Chatbot

A small chat window, on your website or in your tools, that answers questions in writing. Recent chatbots run on AI and answer from your own content, with clear limits on what they can say. An assistant for your customers

ChatGPT

OpenAI’s AI assistant. It answers questions in a few sentences, and can search the web to cite its sources, including businesses like yours. Get recommended by ChatGPT

ChatGPT search

The ChatGPT feature that searches the web live and cites its sources, with links. It’s what can recommend your business to someone asking for “an electrician in Sion to install an EV charger.” Get recommended by ChatGPT

Citation

When an AI assistant names your business, or links to your page, in its answer. In local SEO, the word also means a mention of your name, address and phone number in a directory. What AI visibility costs

CMS

Short for “content management system.” It’s the software that lets you change your website without writing code: change some text, add a photo, post a news item. WordPress, Shopify and Wix are examples. What a website costs

Conversion

The action you want a visitor to take: a call, a form sent, a purchase, a request for directions. Counting conversions tells you what your website and your ads really bring in.

Conversion rate

The share of visitors who take the action you want: call, write, buy. Doubling a website’s conversion rate brings in as much as doubling its visits, and often costs less.

Conversion tracking

The setup that records the actions that matter to you: calls, forms, purchases. Without it, there’s no way to know which campaign or which page brings you customers.

Cookie

A small file your website stores in the visitor’s browser. Some simply make the site work; others measure visits or are used for advertising. In Switzerland, you have to tell your visitors about them and let them refuse; European rules go further and ask for their consent first.

Core Web Vitals

Google’s measures of how comfortable a page is to use: how fast the main content appears, how the page reacts when you click, and how stable it stays while loading. A slow or jumpy page drives visitors away, and Google takes that into account.

CPA (cost per acquisition)

What an inquiry or a sale from advertising costs you, on average. You calculate it by dividing the spend by the number of conversions. It’s often the most telling number for judging a campaign. Your Google Ads budget

CPC (cost per click)

The price you pay Google every time someone clicks your ad. Showing the ad costs nothing. The price depends on the bidding, the competition for the keyword and the quality of your ad. The cost of a click on Google Ads

CRM

Short for “customer relationship management.” It’s the software that keeps your customers and prospects in one place: contact details, conversations, quotes, follow-ups. Nobody forgets to call back anymore, and everyone can see where each customer stands. Choosing a CRM for a small business

CRO

Short for “conversion rate optimization.” It’s the work that raises the share of visitors who contact you or buy: a more visible button, a shorter form, a clearer page. It often pays off better than chasing more visitors.

CTR (click-through rate)

The share of people who click your ad or your link, out of everyone who sees it. A low click-through rate often means the title doesn’t match what people are looking for.

Custom software

A tool built around the way you work, instead of off-the-shelf software you have to adapt to: scheduling, quotes, job tracking, a customer portal. It belongs to you, and it grows with you. What custom software costs

Customer reviews

The ratings and comments your customers leave, especially on your Google Business Profile. They reassure people who are hesitating, and Google takes them into account when ranking businesses on its map. Reply to every one, even the critical ones, and never use fake reviews: Google bans them.

D

Deliverability

Whether your emails reach the inbox rather than the spam folder. It depends on your domain name’s technical settings, the quality of your contact list and the content of your messages.

Digital marketing

Everything that helps a business get found and chosen online: the website, Google, advertising, social media, email and the tools that keep track of customers. It works best when everything aims at the same goal.

Direction requests

On your Google Business Profile, the number of people who ask for directions to your place. For a shop or a practice, it’s a valuable indicator: these people are often already on their way.

Domain name

Your website’s address, like your-business.ch. The .ch ending is Switzerland’s own, and Swiss customers trust it. It must be registered in your name, not your provider’s.

E

E-commerce

Selling online, in your own store or on a marketplace. A store built for Switzerland handles Swiss VAT, shipping and the payment methods your customers expect, like TWINT. What an online store costs

E-E-A-T

Short for “experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness.” These are the qualities Google asks its raters to look for in a page. It isn’t a score, but it’s a good guide: show who’s writing, what you know how to do, and real proof.

Email marketing

The emails you send your customers and contacts: newsletters, offers, reminders. It’s one of the few channels you truly own, without depending on an algorithm. It’s for people who have agreed to hear from you.

Email sequence

A series of emails sent automatically after an action: a sign-up, a quote request, a first purchase. For example: a thank-you right away, some tips a few days later, then a follow-up.

Event

In Google Analytics 4, every action a visitor takes is recorded as an event: a page view, a click on your phone number, a form sent. The most important ones are marked as key events: those are your conversions.

F

Fractional CMO

Someone who runs your marketing a few days a month, without you having to hire full time. CMO stands for chief marketing officer. They set the priorities, coordinate the website, Google and advertising, and track the numbers with you. Our plans

Freelancer

A professional who works independently, often in one specialty: design, SEO or advertising. Strengths: often a lower rate, and you talk directly to the person doing the work. Limits: a single pair of hands, and rarely every skill at once. Freelancer or agency?

G

GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

Google’s free tool that measures visits to your website: where they come from, what people look at and what they do. Set up properly, it counts your calls, your forms and your sales. It has to respect your visitors’ choices about cookies.

Gemini

Google’s AI assistant, found in its own app and across Google’s tools. The same technology powers the AI answers that appear in Google Search.

Generative AI

Artificial intelligence that creates text, images or sound from a simple written request. ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are the best-known examples.

GEO

Short for “generative engine optimization.” It’s the work that gives your website good reasons to be cited in the answers of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Google. It’s also called AI visibility work, or AEO. GEO, AEO and SEO: what changes

Geotargeting

The setting that shows your ads only in the area you choose: a canton, a town, a radius around your address. In Switzerland, the language is often set too, to speak to everyone in their own.

Google Ads

Google’s advertising platform. Your ads show up when someone searches for what you offer, and you pay when they click. It’s a fast way to appear at the top of the results while your SEO starts to pay off. What Google Ads management costs

Google Business Profile

Your business’s free listing on Google and Google Maps, formerly called Google My Business. It shows your hours, your phone number, your photos and your reviews, often before people even see your website. For a local business, it’s often the first contact with a customer. What local SEO costs

Google listing

The everyday name for your Google Business Profile: your business’s listing on Google and Google Maps. See Google Business Profile

Google Maps

Google’s map, where people search for “bakery,” “garage” or “physical therapist near me.” The businesses that show up there come from their Google Business Profiles: accurate hours, reviews, photos and the right category make the difference.

Google Shopping

Product ads, with a photo, a price and the store’s name, that appear in Google’s results. They’re fed by a catalog sent to Google from your online store.

Google Tag Manager

A free Google tool that brings your website’s tracking codes together in one place: Analytics, Google Ads, Meta. You can add or fix a measurement without touching the site’s code.

H

Hallucination

When an AI states something false with great confidence: a made-up price, the wrong opening hours, a service you don’t offer. To limit it, an assistant has to answer from your own content, within clear limits, and be tested on real questions. An assistant tested on your real cases

Hosting

The server where your website is stored, and which keeps it available day and night. Good hosting keeps the site fast, secure and backed up. Some businesses choose hosting in Switzerland, to keep their data there.

Hourly rate

The price of one hour of work. To compare two proposals, also look at what each one covers, not just the rate. A marketing agency’s hourly rate

HTTPS

The secure version of a web address, shown by the padlock in the browser. It encrypts what passes between the visitor and your website, such as the contents of a form. Without it, browsers show a warning that scares people off.

I

Internal link

A link between two pages of your own website. It helps visitors find what comes next, and shows Google which pages matter most.

K

Keyword

The words your customers type to find you, like “accountant Nyon” or “carpenter Fribourg.” You plan one page or one ad for each group of closely related keywords.

Knowledge base

All the content an AI assistant searches for its answers: your website’s pages, your PDFs, your FAQ, your terms. The clearer and more up to date it is, the more accurate the answers.

KPI (key performance indicator)

The number that tells you whether your marketing works: calls, quote requests, sales, directions. You choose one or two at the start, and track them every month. A number tied to your customers beats a click count.

L

Landing page

A page made for a single campaign or a single offer, with a single goal: getting the visitor to call, write or buy. Also called an ad page. It repeats the ad’s promise, and removes everything that distracts. What an ad page costs

Lead

A potential customer who has left their contact details or gotten in touch: a form, a call, an email. A qualified lead matches what you sell, and can really become a customer. Track your leads in a CRM

Link building

The work of getting other websites to link to yours: Swiss directories, partners, associations, press articles. Good links are earned, not bought. What SEO costs

LLM (large language model)

The engine that runs ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude: a program trained on huge amounts of text, which can understand a question and write an answer.

llms.txt

A small text file, placed at the root of a website, that summarizes it for AI assistants. It’s a recent proposal, not yet a standard, and it doesn’t replace clear pages that answer questions. What is GEO?

Local pack

The block of a few businesses, with a map, that appears at the top of Google for a local search like “dentist Morges.” Getting into it depends mostly on your Google Business Profile, your reviews and your distance from the person searching.

Local SEO

The work of showing up when people search near you: “hairdresser Yverdon,” “plumber near me.” It rests on your Google Business Profile, your reviews, contact details that match everywhere, and pages that talk about your region. What local SEO costs

Long-tail keywords

Long, precise searches, like “electric blind repair Vevey.” Each one is rare, but together they carry a lot of weight, and the people who type them often know exactly what they want.

M

Maintenance

The regular work that keeps a website healthy: updates to WordPress and its plugins, backups, security. A website without maintenance ends up slowing down, breaking or getting hacked.

Make

An automation platform that connects your apps to each other, with scenarios you draw on screen. For example: a new form entry creates a contact in the CRM and alerts the team. n8n, Make or Zapier?

Match types

The settings that tell Google Ads how closely a search has to match your keyword: broad match, phrase match or exact match. The broader it is, the more people you reach, and the more closely you need to watch the search terms.

Meta Ads

Advertising on Facebook and Instagram, managed from Meta’s tools. You target people by location, age or interests. Useful for getting known, whereas Google Ads mainly reaches people who are already searching.

Meta description

The short summary that often appears under your page’s title in Google’s results. It doesn’t change your position, but it makes people want to click, or not. Google sometimes rewrites it itself.

Multilingual website

A website in several languages, in Switzerland often French, German, Italian and English. Each language has its own pages and its own addresses, so Google shows everyone the right version. Translating word for word isn’t enough: people don’t search with the same words in Lausanne and in Zurich.

N

n8n

An automation tool that connects your software and can include AI steps. It can run on your own server, in Switzerland if you wish, which keeps your data in your hands. Automate with n8n

NAP

Short for “name, address, phone”: your business’s name, address and phone number. They must be written exactly the same way everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, Swiss directories, social media. Differences sow doubt, with Google and with your customers alike.

Negative keywords

Words you don’t want your ad to show up for, like “free,” “jobs” or “training.” They keep you from paying for clicks that will never turn into customers. Google Ads uses the same name. Managing your campaigns

nFADP

Switzerland’s new Federal Act on Data Protection, in force since September 1^st, 2023. It applies to small businesses too: you have to say what data you collect and why, in a clear privacy policy. If you target customers in the European Union, the GDPR may apply on top of it.

No-code

Building tools or automations without writing code, by putting blocks together on screen. It’s quick for getting started; for more complex needs, a little code is sometimes still necessary. Compare n8n, Make and Zapier

O

Opt-in

The consent a person gives to receive your emails, for example by checking a box. With double opt-in, they then confirm it by clicking a link. In Switzerland, sending marketing emails generally requires this consent, except to your existing customers, whom you give a simple way to unsubscribe.

P

Performance Max

A type of Google Ads campaign that runs your ads across Google all at once: Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps and partner sites. Google decides on its own where to show them, and to whom. Powerful, but it needs close watching, or the budget goes where it brings in little.

Persona

A portrait of a typical customer: what they’re looking for, what worries them, the questions they ask. It helps you write pages and ads that speak to real people.

Plugin

An add-on for WordPress that gives it one more feature: forms, bookings, a store, translation. Every plugin has to be kept up to date, and too many plugins slow the site down.

Prompt

What you ask an AI: a question, a request, instructions. The more precise it is, with the context and the result you expect, the more useful the answer.

Q

Quality Score

The rating Google Ads gives each keyword. It takes into account how likely people are to click the ad, how closely it relates to the search, and the page the visitor lands on. A good score can get you the same position for less. What sets the price of a click

R

Ranking

Your page’s place in Google’s results for a given search. It changes with the person, the location, the device and the day: that’s why nobody can promise a specific spot.

Redesign

Rebuilding an existing website: new design, new structure, revised copy. Well prepared, with the redirects in place, it keeps what the old site had earned on Google. What a redesign costs

Redirect (301)

A permanent detour from an old address to a new one. During a redesign, it keeps your visitors and Google from landing on a 404 error page, and it helps you hold on to your positions on Google.

Remarketing

Showing your ads again to people who have already visited your website, while they browse other sites or watch YouTube. Also called retargeting. It’s a useful reminder for people who were hesitating, as long as you respect their cookie choices. Google Ads management

Responsive design

A responsive website adapts to the size of the screen: phone, tablet or computer. It’s the bare minimum today, especially since Google looks at the mobile version of your site first.

ROAS

Short for “return on ad spend”: the revenue your ads bring in, divided by what they cost. It’s used mostly by online stores. ROI, on the other hand, compares profit with everything you’ve invested.

S

Sales pipeline

The stages of a sale, from the first inquiry to the signature: new inquiry, quote sent, follow-up, won or lost. In a CRM, each deal moves from column to column, and you see at a glance what’s waiting. A CRM built for the way you sell

SEA (paid search)

Short for “search engine advertising”: paid ads in search engines, like Google Ads. You’re visible from launch, and you pay for every click. When you stop, the ads disappear. How much budget to plan for

Search Console

Google’s free tool that shows how your website appears in search: for which words, with how many clicks, and at what average position. It also flags the pages Google can’t read, and the errors to fix.

Search terms

The exact words people typed before seeing or clicking your ad. They often differ from your keywords: reading them every week lets you exclude the searches that cost money without bringing any in.

Search volume

How many times a search is typed each month, on average. It’s an estimate: useful for choosing keywords, but in French-speaking Switzerland, a rare search can be worth its weight in gold if it brings in the right customer.

SEO (organic search)

Short for “search engine optimization.” It’s the work that gets your website into Google’s free results: useful pages, a technically clean site, a good reputation. The effects take a few months, but they last. What SEO costs

SERP

Short for “search engine results page”: Google’s results page. You’ll find ads there, a map with businesses, links, common questions, and sometimes an answer written by AI.

Shopify

A ready-to-use online store platform: hosting, security and updates are handled for you. Handy for getting started fast; WooCommerce, on the other hand, gives you more freedom on your own website. What an online store costs

Sitemap

A file that lists your website’s pages, to help Google find them all. You submit it in Search Console.

Social media

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and the rest. For a small business, they’re mostly for showing who you are and staying in touch; LinkedIn matters more when you sell to other businesses. One well-kept account beats four abandoned ones.

Structured data

Code your visitors don’t see, which describes your business to search engines in a format they read without hesitation: address, hours, prices, common questions. It helps Google pick up accurate information, and can enrich your results, for example with a product’s price.

T

Tag

A small piece of code on your website that sends information to a measurement or advertising tool when a visitor does something. Google Tag Manager lets you manage them all in one place.

Technical SEO

The part of SEO that happens under the hood: speed, mobile version, clean addresses, redirects, sitemap, security. If Google has trouble reading your site, even excellent content stays invisible.

Title tag

A page’s title, the one that appears in the browser tab and, often, in large type in Google’s results. It should say in a few words what the page contains, and make people want to click.

Tracked questions

A list of questions your customers might ask, like “Which garage in Bulle works on electric cars?” Every month, they’re put to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Google’s AI answers, to see whether your business gets cited. Measure your AI visibility

Trade area

The area your customers come from: a few streets, a town, a region, all of French-speaking Switzerland. It tells you where to show your ads, and which towns to talk about on your website.

TWINT

Switzerland’s mobile payment app. In a Swiss online store, your customers often expect to find it next to credit cards.

U

URL

A page’s address, like your-business.ch/services/. A short, readable address helps visitors and Google understand what the page contains.

UTM

Labels added to the end of a link to tell Google Analytics where a visit came from: which newsletter, which post, which poster with a QR code. Without them, those visits get lost in the crowd.

UX and UI

UX, the user experience, is how easily visitors find what they’re looking for and do what they came to do. UI, the user interface, is what they see: buttons, colors, layout. A beautiful website can still be hard to use.

V

Value proposition

In one sentence, the reason a customer should choose you: what you do, for whom, and what sets you apart. It belongs at the top of your home page.

Visual identity

Everything that makes your business recognizable at a glance: logo, colors, fonts, photo style. Its rules are gathered in brand guidelines, so your website, ads and documents look like they belong together.

W

Webhook

A message one piece of software sends another automatically, as soon as something happens: an order placed, a form received, an appointment booked. It’s often the starting point of an automation. Automate with n8n

WooCommerce

The free plugin that turns a WordPress website into an online store. The site and the store are one and the same, and you stay in control of everything. What a WooCommerce store costs

WordPress

Free, open-source software for building and running a website. You extend it with plugins, and it needs regular updates. It’s behind many brochure websites and online stores. What a WordPress website costs

Workflow

The chain of steps in an automation: a trigger (an email arrives), then actions (read the attachment, create the invoice, notify accounting). You sketch it on paper first, before building it. Automate your tasks

Z

Zapier

An automation platform that’s very easy to pick up, and connects a large number of apps. Ideal for short automations; for richer scenarios, Make or n8n often go further. n8n, Make or Zapier?